Hurricane
"To live in a world where truth matters and justice - however late - really happens, that world would be heaven enough for us all." -- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
The first fight I watched on television with my father and brothers was when Rubin knocked out welterweight champion Emile Griffith in the first round on December 20, 1963. I have my old scrapbook of articles on his boxing career from back then. A few years later, a newspaper report said he had been convicted of a triple murder.
At age 13, the second biggest boxing magazine featured an article -- complete with 13 pictures -- about my boxing. About the same time, a NYC news station did a story that raised doubt about the Hurricane's legal case. So I wrote to him at a New Jersey prison, saying I had decided to get him released from prison. I also noted that upon release, I'd be willing to let him manage my ring career.
How could he refuse such a generous offer? A few weeks later, I got the first of many letters from Rubin. This was before the movement to release him, led by Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan. So materials about his case were scarce. Thank goodness for public libraries.
In time, I had my tenth grade class communicating with Rubin through letters and cassette tapes. We started making plans for the teacher and a few of us students to visit him. But two things prevented that: the teacher was fired for letting the class communicate with a convicted triple murderer, and the new support from Ali was frowned upon by the prison administration.
In letters, Rubin told me that the prison was becoming tense. He had been in a prison riot before -- and was credited with saving the lives of a couple guards. So, with all the insight of a young teenaged boy, I urged him to take control and prevent violence. Rubin told my brother that this prompted him to come out of self-imposed isolation, and run for the presidency of the inmate council.
He won. And soon lawyers, college faculty, politicians, and some media were going to the prison to meet with Rubin. I have a stack of the communications between them and Rubin. I remember when, after talking to the leaders of prison gangs, he convinced them to assist him in getting inmates to hand in weapons.
In response, the administration followed Princeton University's Gresham Sykes' 1958 study of New Jersey's prisons. In it, Sykes recommended that inmates considered "leaders" be move to the Vroom Psychiatric Building for the "criminally insane." He actually wrote that this was similar to when "troublesome slaves" were sent to the deep south. Hence, Rubin was moved to Vroom, where he was held until a federal judge released him. Rubin was awarded $2500 in compensation for this, money that went to hiring a detective to investigate the murders he had been falsely convicted of.
Eventually, Rubin told me to quit boxing and go to college. This was at the time when Rubin was in what we called his "Buddha phase." Other than his lawyer, I was one of two people he communicated with. I joined the progressive frat in college, and we were planning to play the republican frat in a fundraising basketball game. The winning team would pick a charity for the money to go to. We picked Rubin's legal defense.
The morning of the game, I went to my sociology class. The teacher started class by saying, "We have a celebrity in class today." He explained that the FBI had visited the deans, and told them to shut the game down. The doors to the gym were locked that evening, so I had to climb through a window to get in and open it up. We won, of course, and sent the money to Rubin's lawyer.
From isolation, I got a series of amazing letters from Rubin. He was convinced he would die in prison. Some of those lettrs were 40+ pages. This was before te Canadians became involved with Rubin. I would continue my small investigation. I'd hear from the DA who convicted Rubin, the judge that oversaw the second trial, the FBI, and I'd talk to the second cop who arrived at the murder scene, as well as a guy who had been in the bar before the murders.
Once the case was brought to federal court, his conviction was overturned. We got together a few times. I went to Canada, and he came here. I liked that he would introduce me to university audiences, saying I saved his life when he was at his lowest point. Usually, we talked on the telephone about such things as flower gardening or when he was meeting with Nelson Mandela.
I worked with Rubin on contributing a chapter to a college professor's book on the power of forgiveness. We talked late at night when he was writing his second autobiography. He had me write the press review of the book, and I was planning on going on the book tour with him until his being in an auto wreck ended that. I was able to introduce Rubin to most of my co-workers from the mental health clinic, and to my nephews and their friends. And the best thing was my children's relationship with their "Uncle Rubin."
I've said all of the above, to say this: as an old man, I have great respect for the American justice system. I am very aware of its many imperfections. Still, in the years between 2017 to 2021, when that system was under attack by the felon and his cult, I told my sister Malaise that the institution would hold. And it did, though perhaps imperfectly.
But if the felon somehow wins in November, the institutions of our justice system willbe utterly destroyed, from local courts to the USSC. That thought should motivate each one of us every day between now and election day to work very hard to re-elect President biden, and every Democrat running in our state and local contests.
Thank you to anyone who may have read this far.
H2O Man
= new reply since forum marked as read
As citizens, when we see injustice, it is our duty to serve as gadflies in the ointment. (I intend this in the context of Plato's quote of Socrates in "Apology."
A keeper for sure! Rubin “Hurricane” Carter!
Gonna start one of the next Call to Action emails with it. MAYBE the one following g the GOP convention…
H2O Man, you are a fine example and inspiration to us all. 